Barber's cocaine dealing gets cut short

Published 6:13 pm, Tuesday, March 18, 2014

"Yours is a very sad case," U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill told Cameron. "You were living the American Dream and you threw it away. Not just a little, not halfway -- but in a very big way."

The judge then sentenced Cameron, who owns Fresh Cuts, a unisex hair styling shop on Wood Avenue, to 40 months in prison.

He noted that once Cameron finishes the sentence, he will be deported to Jamaica.

For much of the lengthy sentencing, Cameron, a 36-year-old lanky man with dreadlocks, held his head in his hands and sobbed as nearly 50 family members and friends like Ricardo Guthrie pleaded with the judge for mercy.

"He's a great person," Guthrie told the judge, explaining how Cameron always had time to help others with their problems. "He was like another brother to me."

Jonathan Einhorn, Cameron's lawyer, advised the judge how hard his client worked in the many legitimate businesses he had.

The prosecutor accused Cameron of selling "substantial amounts of cocaine" to Marvin Wooten, a Norwalk man and the key figure in the investigation. He estimated that the sales involved as much as 30 pounds of cocaine over the years with Wooten paying between $42 and $45 a gram.

Spector said Cameron got the cocaine from his brother Chester who, in turn, had supply sources in Jamaica.

All were convicted in the case. Wooten was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Chester Cameron to six years and eight months in prison.

In a related matter, Underhill sentenced Terrell Wills, 40, of Stamford to four years in prison. Wills admitted purchasing crack from one of Wooten's associates and reselling it.

During the six month long investigation in 2012, investigators seized $100,000, 500 grams of cocaine, 350 grams of crack, cars and jewelry.